Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Awareness

H, Jenn, and I went to visit our friend and mentor Ed last night. We chatted with him and his wife Ellen. Ed has been dealing with prostate cancer for a few years now, and he is nearing the end of his life. It was sad seeing Ed and hearing him speak candidly about when he passes, but I also felt a certain sense of calm, especially between him and me. And at one moment, I looked around the room. All of us in the room had been greatly affected by cancer. Jenn lost her father to cancer a couple years ago; Ed and Ellen are dealing with it now; and of course my husband and I with our own cancer struggles. Even though the five of us in the room had been friends for years, there we were, with our own experiences, collectively.

This snapshot of us in that room last night has stayed with me since then. Why? Can't answer that question right now.

But here's something simple you can do. My cousin Kelly emailed me this link this morning. It's a Purina Cat Chow Breast Cancer Awareness quiz--5 quick questions you can answer so that Purina will donate $1 to the Komen Foundation per questionnaire answered. I'm not a cat person, but this sounds pretty cool: Breast Cancer Quiz.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Halloween Theme: Fat Necrosis (dress up as the fatty lump in Brandy's chest for Halloween!)

Best news ever: FAT NECROSIS! Biopsy is clear. It took them a goddamn while to get back to me, and I have my suspicions that the only reason the doc called was because she read this article in the Straight about me: Cancer Affects Young Adults. She called me and said, "Did my secretary call you?" "Um, nope." [I had called and left 2 message with her secretary AND called my family doc and asked if they had gotten the results from the cancer agency.] Dr. Doc: "Well, everything looks normal, so bye!" "Okay, bye!"

Done, done, and fucking done.

Now I'm just trying to deal with the rusty robot arm I have. It's this massive set of knots and kinks lodged in my pec, shoulder, and neck region on the right side. It's pretty uncomfortable. I went to my massage therapist on Friday, and she said that I have a lot of fascial tissue built up around the muscles, causing them to tighten. Help!

Oh yes, and it's breast cancer awareness month. Make a donation to any of the various breast cancer organizations--and while you're at it, tell them to throw more money on research on young adults! As you can see by the article in the Straight, a tiny microscopic miniscule amount of money is directed to cancer research for people ages 20-40. It's really shocking and sad.

I'm sure a lot of you have read about Christina Applegate's breast cancer ordeal, and for me, it was pretty weird to read about a celebrity going through a similar situation. Weirder yet is that she and I have the same birthday (except she was born 4 years before me). Is November 25th a good day? Or cursed? Anyway, I do feel a connection to her, even though I don't know her at all. We've suffered from the same evil disease. Hey Christina--if you're reading this (yeah, right)--call me! Let's write a book together! It would kick cancer's fucking ass!